Building traditions with pumpkins.

Family traditions mean so much.

Every fall, I get so excited to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. When Carmen was one, we started taking her to the Westin Red Barn Farm. Since then we've made a bid deal out of going there each year. Side note: thank you Carrie for the recommendation!

It is such an awesome thing to know we are building traditions for our children that they can look forward to us doing as a family each year. My hope for us as a family is to continue to build these traditions so that some day our trip to the pumpkin patch includes my kids and grand kids.

I love this picture so much. 

Lilah running around like the wild spirit she is.

Seriously... this kid is adorable!

Raytown. My love, sadness, and hope.

I am hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.

Jeff and I bought our first house in Raytown 8 years ago. We both grew up here and have friends we have known nearly our whole lives here.

Growing up there was an influx of people moving to Raytown for its proximity to downtown and the great schools.

Over the past few years most of the people who lived in Raytown have started moving to other parts of the city,  the scores for the schools have gone down, businesses have closed, crime has gone up, and the home prices have fallen. It is so sad to me. I remember when the Raytown Police had nothing better to do than break up our parties at Wildwood Lake.

Instead of leaving, Jeff and I have stayed. He works for the school and feels compelled to make an impact teaching in the district. We spend our money with local businesses and invest in our neighborhood. 

It has been harder and harder to keep a positive outlook on my favorite place. The YMCA closed so we can't take our kids to swim lessons any longer, there are vacant buildings throughout the city and I keep hearing horrible news about crime close to home. I feel like we have come to a point where Jeff and I need to decide if we are going to leave or keep investing in this town and believe it can change.

I very much love this town.  I love the history and the history I have here. My favorite part of living here is the small town feel with no streets over a few lanes wide and the undeveloped parts with farmland and animals. I love the teachers we have at our local preschool and the teachers at Carmen's elementary school.  I enjoy the diversity of the city and that my kids will learn to appreciate everyone no matter their race or economic status. I have another reason for hope. We have a mayor who is trying to revitalize the city and a school district superintendent trying to turn around the schools.

Why am I writing this long story?  I guess I am trying to remind myself why I enjoy this place and I hope any of my friends who are still here will think hard before abandoning the place where we all grew roots. We can only make this town stronger by sticking around and investing here.

Will we eventually move? I am not sure. We have a dream to have acreage and a place a little more secluded. Can we do that here? I am not sure. But I am sure that while we are here, we are going to try and make as much of an impact as possible to see this place rebound and have a great reputation again.